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Old 09-11-2019, 08:15 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hudson, NY
Posts: 43
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
747

Here's my '99 IC, which will be keeping the tail number from its time in the fleet as its permanent name.

Doing a Firefly impression on the lot in Colorado:
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see the resemblance?

I love the cockpit. It doesn't have plastic dinosaurs, but there is a sweet tiger sticker:
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First step of demo- half a million seat bolts and a trip to the dump
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Next; floor, wall, and hateful itchy fiberglass removal and discovery of rust holes. All things considered, not too bad in the rust department. Oh and another trip to the dump. This time I got to try out the rough road performance of the bus and get an empty weight of 18,000 lbs from their scale
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Ospho...
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Colorado Custom Coachworks did a fantastic job on my 16" roof raise. I picked 16" because it brought the exterior height to just under 12', meaning I can make it under most modern bridges. Even so, I use Sygic Truck Navigation to make sure I don't have a bad day.
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Big Foot
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Parallel Parked. You can't see it, but the bus is playing moving truck in this picture. Filled floor to ceiling from the first rib behind the driver's window to the back door. 26,600 lbs from the CAT scale. The transmission got mad at hills until I got to a lower elevation so I may put a transmission cooler and bigger oil pan on it later on. Interesting that the performance limitation is the transmission instead of engine power.
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Ahh, look at all that head room! The center of the ceiling arch measured 77" stock, so after the roof raise and 6" of subfloor insulation I should still have room for a shower head that aims higher than my shoulders.
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Next up is hunting down all the holes in the skin and sealing them, then exterior paint so the NY winter doesn't ruin those nice sheet metal panels

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Old 09-11-2019, 08:25 PM   #2
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hudson, NY
Posts: 43
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
SketchUp planning

I used the planning process as an opportunity to learn SketchUp.
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Old 09-12-2019, 09:32 AM   #3
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Funny, I was thinking about layouts and was pondering two twins over a queen and wondering how that would work. Of course I wasn't thinking about it with a roof raise, but instead on a standard height. Can't wait to see the progress. Looks awesome so far.

Garrett.
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Old 09-12-2019, 01:28 PM   #4
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hudson, NY
Posts: 43
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
In this design I have a water tank under the "master" bed. (I'm pretty sure I can fit a king mattress, width-wise) If you put the mattress on the floor or a low frame you would have another foot or so to work with. I think it would be very doable even without a roof raise, especially if the people in the upper bunks are kids.
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Old 09-12-2019, 01:45 PM   #5
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Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
What did the roof raise cost? And how much did they do for the $?
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Old 09-12-2019, 02:04 PM   #6
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Location: Rochester NY
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Year: 1986
Coachwork: Blueburd
Chassis: International S1800
Engine: 9.0L International Diesel NA
Hey caldayton! If your ever in Rochester look us up. Would be fun to talk bus.
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Old 09-12-2019, 02:04 PM   #7
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
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Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
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Quote:
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What did the roof raise cost? And how much did they do for the $?
They start at ten grand there.
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Old 09-12-2019, 04:40 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CalDayton View Post
Don't let those holes by the wheel wells worry you - it's just Nature's Way of letting you know you're still on the ground.

I have similar holes (just a lot worse) and one issue with that particular hole is it's at the under-floor stiffener to which the mudflaps are attached. How are you planning to repair that bit? I'm replacing my entire floor around the wheel wells so this is only something I'm curious about.
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Old 09-30-2019, 05:46 PM   #9
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hudson, NY
Posts: 43
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
The roof raise was $16000 but it would have been less if I had had more time for them to work on it. They knocked it out in 3 weeks with some O. T. which was well worth the price to me since the first company I talked to kept pushing my shop slot back and wasn't going to be able to get it done in time for me to move.

I like that they used solid steel rivets. I brought them a bus with only the interior demo complete. They removed the windows and cut the ribs, welded in the rib extensions which they provided, riveted the outer skins and reattached the roof and end caps with joint sealant, and primered the raw steel bits. I don't think they did anything with the wiring since the stock harness was able to reach everywhere it needed to.

https://www.coloradocustomcoachworks.com/ is their website. Chris has some really cool Skoolie fabrications like swing-out underbody propane storage and elegantly curved roof rack brackets that they're working on designing into shippable kits.

Bus Update:

paint prep-








Finally... application!


I wanted a tan color like the Toyotas and got close enough by mixing a few Rustoleum High Performance Protective Enamel colors. Yeah, turns out the "Sand" color is illegal in NY.
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Old 09-30-2019, 05:58 PM   #10
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hudson, NY
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Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
Don't let those holes by the wheel wells worry you - it's just Nature's Way of letting you know you're still on the ground.

I have similar holes (just a lot worse) and one issue with that particular hole is it's at the under-floor stiffener to which the mudflaps are attached. How are you planning to repair that bit? I'm replacing my entire floor around the wheel wells so this is only something I'm curious about.
I've got a cousin-in-law who can weld. I think we're going to cut out the rusty sections and just weld in a new panel. I've got a can of Chassis Saver that I'm going to use on the underbody, including the fresh floor panels. I also have a school bus mechanic and an International shop nearby so between the three of them I figure someone will know the right way to fix it.
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Old 09-30-2019, 06:10 PM   #11
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Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,992
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CalDayton View Post
I've got a cousin-in-law who can weld. I think we're going to cut out the rusty sections and just weld in a new panel. I've got a can of Chassis Saver that I'm going to use on the underbody, including the fresh floor panels. I also have a school bus mechanic and an International shop nearby so between the three of them I figure someone will know the right way to fix it.
Ironically enough, I just noticed today that one of my mudflaps is now missing. I guess it really was only held on by paint, essentially.
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Old 10-02-2019, 11:18 AM   #12
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Old 10-02-2019, 12:46 PM   #13
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Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Moved to Zealand!
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Year: 2002
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Chassis: Freightliner FS-65
Engine: 7.2L Cat 3126 turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 71 passenger 30,000 gvwr
Bummer that your pix aren't working --

How is "sand" color illegal in NY?
I used to live in Saratoga and I'm sure I'll return to visit from time to time...
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Old 10-03-2019, 09:53 AM   #14
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Posts: 43
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
The rustoleum sand color is prohibited by the EPA. I guess it has some chemical in it the other colors don't. There's nothing wrong with the vehicle being that color. I've seen people talking about yellow being frowned upon in NY though.

I used the forum code to link to my google photos. I can see them, but google probably has some sharing setting that I got wrong. Guess I'll just use the attachment feature from now on.
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Old 10-03-2019, 03:40 PM   #15
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Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Moved to Zealand!
Posts: 1,517
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freightliner FS-65
Engine: 7.2L Cat 3126 turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 71 passenger 30,000 gvwr
That's looking nice!
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Old 10-04-2019, 01:35 AM   #16
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Year: 2002
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Wow! Very nice finish. I only hope to get such a job done on ours!
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Old 10-04-2019, 01:38 AM   #17
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I am glad you decided to attach the pictures.
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Old 03-07-2020, 07:32 PM   #18
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hudson, NY
Posts: 43
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
Repairing the rust holes in the wheel wells.

I used plastic from a heavy duty trash can, pop rivets, and a ton of PL. Since I'll be doing closed cell spray foam on all sides including the floor the plastic will have some structural reinforcement.

I had originally planned on having someone weld patches in but it would have taken too long, plus metal didn't really work very well in the first place.
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Old 03-07-2020, 07:45 PM   #19
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That should hold fine. My only concern would be what happens with a tire blowout. FYI if you're ever in the Philly area I'd be happy to weld in floor patches for stuff like this, even have plenty of scrap metal for it.
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Old 03-16-2020, 06:37 PM   #20
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hudson, NY
Posts: 43
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT466E/MT643
Rated Cap: 77 pax/30k GVWR
Thanks, I'll keep you in mind if my trash can experiment goes poorly.

Here's the latest:
Completed wheel well repairs
Installing baseboard framing
Completed floor framing (joists?)
Checking window fit
That brass thing is the driver's buzzer.
That solenoid is the safety interlock solenoid. If anything is amiss with the myriad of safety interlocks, it wont engage and you can't start the bus.
How to be unsafe. The heavy gauge wire with the cable protector is direct from the battery. I overrode all the unnecessary switches by connecting all the fuse boards to the same terminal. Just have to remember to turn stuff off. Also, the safety interlock solenoid has been jumped with the same technique so I won't get stuck because some dumb wire gets messed up.
Wall framing going in
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